Rumble in the Jungle
Rumble in the Jungle is the eighth episode of the Mighty Max Animated Series. The episode was written by Jack Zurla and Mark Zaslove and first aired October 31, 1993. Synopsis Deep in a jungle, Max's Mom is being chased by a group of barbarians. She is finally cornered, and asks if they can't all just be friends. The cavemen grab her, and upon orders from a mysterious Gorilla-like figure atop the cliff, run off with her. Meanwhile, Max is relaxing outside his house in a hammock, ordering a pizza, when he notices a message from Virgil in the sky. He goes the library and immediately teleports into a large Colosseum. Virgil tells Max about his mother, and the three of them go to rescue her. However, as they cross an unsteady cliff, the rocks drop and the trio fall onto a tree. They hop out, and Max discovers a jeep hidden by a bush. The barbarians quickly attack them, and they run as Norman fights them off. As they're chased, Max is grabbed by one of the neanderthals and falls to the ground. His radio falls from his pocket and starts blaring music, confusing the cavemen. The General Gorilla appears and destroys the radio, ordering the barbarians to get the trio. Max, Norman, and Virgil continue to run until they find a river. They decide the best way to escape the General Gorilla is to jump in, despite Virgil not being able to swim. In the water, they realize they'll soon drop from a waterfall. Norman grabs onto a branch but it breaks, and the three fall. The General Gorilla, believing them to be dead, leaves with his men. Norman drags Max and Virgil out of the water from below, and they worry if Max's Mom ran into the group of savages herself. They find the Gorilla's city and follow the General inside. The General finds a slave and asks where his food is, but the slave makes excuses. Another ape appears and whips the slave, ordering the others to tie him up. The three walk inside the city and accidentally bump into one of the slaves. He bows to Max and attempts to speak to him, but Max does not understand anything he says. He tries to show Max and the others where his mom is. In a cell, Max's mom is reunited with Max. However, the General Gorilla appears and Norman goes to fight him, but Max orders him not to. They are all captured, and Max reveals he didn't think Norman could take them all. They are brought to the Ape King, the leader of the gorillas. He wonders how Max can speak so well, but comments that there is nothing beyond the valley of the jungle, and that visitors are only rumors. The General wants to kill both Max and his mom, and taunts him. Max makes a paper plane and has it fly, and the General accuses him of sorcery. The Ape King does not know what to do with them, so he sends them away. They are put in a cell, but easily escape with Norman's help. They run into a house belonging to the slave from earlier and his family, and they exchange gifts: a stone for a comb. The gorillas attack them, but due to Max's kindness, the cavemen fight them off. During the battle, many cavemen are killed. Norman, however, knocks a huge pillar over, but it fails to stop the army. The gorillas rush at Max, Virgil, Norman, and Max's Mom, but are stopped by the Ape King. He gathers them and orders their execution. Max tells him they just wanted to go home, and it was unfair of them to fight. The General challenges Max to a fight, and Max is forced to accept. Max grabs a map and runs immediately, but is chased by the General. He runs to the jeep they found earlier and starts it up, driving right into the General. Max finds the nearest portal and jumps out of the jeep as it slides in, taking the General with him. He returns to the Ape King, who realizes there really is an outside world. Max forces the Ape King to treat the savages like equals to the gorillas, and the king agrees to it. Elsewhere, in a desert, the General screams in frustration. Notes *This episode is based on Mighty Max Tangles With the Ape King. *Max's educational epilogue was about the survival of the Gorilla species. Category:Animated Series episodes